


Falling Snow

by eerieEllyllon



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Jade still has Narcolepsy, One Shot, The first part is pure fluff I swear, it just gets sad at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 13:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2852102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerieEllyllon/pseuds/eerieEllyllon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose invites Jade and Dave to stay at her place for the holidays, and for the first time Jade gets to see snow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling Snow

"Hey, guys, look! It's snowing." The girl practically was pressing her face against the glass of the window, absolutely fascinated with the white flakes drifting down in the dark night.

"Well, damn, that would be snow." Dave glanced up briefly from the apple cider he'd been staring at since the moment Rose handed it to him. It was contained his favorite beverage, but yet, it wasn't apple juice. There was something completely off about it, and he wasn't sure where to start.

Maybe that why Lalonde gave it to him in the first place, so she could just watch and drink in his discomfort.

"Dave, Rose come here! Just look at it, there's so much and it's _everywhere_."

"Calm down, Harley, it's just snow." Dave replied, looking up again and studying the girl for a moment. "Wait, this isn't your first time seeing snow, is it?"

Jade turned around, "So what if it is? It never snows on my island."

"You're kidding."

"Am not!"

"Well," Rose spoke up, setting the book she'd been so preoccupied with to the side, "Then I think it was a good thing I had you two over for the holidays."

"Yeah!" Jade chirped, removing herself from the window and hopping on the couch next to Rose. "This is gonna be the best Christmas I ever had, though it's too bad John couldn't come too..."

The blonde laughed, "I'm not surprised his dad had traditions to carry out every year with him. You guys should have seen how desperately he tried to talk me into kidnapping him."

"I can see it now," Dave snorted, "Egbert clinging to our legs, screaming at the top of his lungs. Begging us to give him the clown and fruit cake free holiday he so desires." 

"We'll have to send him a present to make up for this. Maybe a box filled with the wrapping paper from all the presents we opened."

"Isn't that a little cruel?" Jade laughed, "We can at least make something nice for him. Maybe you could teach us how to knit tomorrow, Rose!" She paused for a moment, "Wait, maybe not tomorrow."

"And why not?"

"Because we have to go outside and play in the snow tomorrow!"

"I second this motion," Rose smiled, turned to Dave.

He shrugged, "Whatever you say, but I'm not making snow angels with you."

"But, Daaaaaaaave..."

\- - - - - - - -

The next morning Jade Harley was practically screaming when she went outside, dashing out as her feet sunk through the fluffy white covering the ground. Dave stepped out slowly, watching her with a smirk. Aw, it was like letting an overexcited puppy out.

The thoughts of Jade being a puppy were cut short when a handful of snow went flying into his face.

"What the hell, Rose?" He said, raising a gloved hand up to brush snow from his shades.

"Too slow, Strider, too slow."

"Guuuuuys!" Harley started waving both arms and shouted at them, "We should play hide and seek."

"To be honest, I thought you were gonna start talking snowmen first." Dave shot a glare toward Rose, vowing to get revenge on her later, and a handful of snow in a hood was not going to cut it. "You don't think you're too old for that game yet?"

"Bec always finds me no matter where I hide, so it's no fun." Jade explained, hopping toward the two. "Besides, this may be the only chance I get to play it with you guys, and with trees to hide in!"

"Fine, we can can play a round or two, whatever makes you happy."

"Aaah! Thank you." The girl dashed forward and swung her arms around the boy. Not that he was going to argue, it was far too precious for him to ruin the moment just yet, even if Rose was doing the thing with her eyebrows.

"Well then, Dave, you're it." Lalonde decided, making her exit and marching toward the woods she'd spent so much time exploring in her youth.

"Ah, come on. You're the host aren't you?"

"Dave you'll be a great it," Jade nodded, stepping back before spinning around on her heel. "Close your eyes and count to a hundred, and no peeking, okay?"

"Alright, whatever, just go hide or something already," He huffed. 

"I'm going, I'm going."

"Don't get lost Jade," Rose called back, just at the foot of a tree. 

"Don't worry about me, I won't go too far."

\- - - - - - - -

The girl went dashing forward, often pushing through the brush in attempt to hide her tracks. She actually had a chance to win this game, and she wasn't going to waste time on someplace too close for her to really be hidden in. There was also the matter of not getting lost, but she was pretty sure she was heading in the same direction she was when she first started running, just in a wobbly scribbly looking line is all.

The sound of running water met her ears, and she slowed her pace. A river? She would have thought it'd been frozen through by now, but when she approached it, only a few sections on the sides had ice stuck in place. It was kind of nice to listen to, but Jade had a game to play!

To the side, a sizable log was creating a bridge across the water. She trotted over to it, inspecting it cautiously. It didn't move when she pushed it, so it seemed sturdy enough. Slowly, she climbed on top, and started crawling on her hands and knees. It was relieving to find it wasn't slick, but it was soaking her knees through her skirt. Oh well, she'll just change into something dry later. 

Went she reached the other side, she went right. She could just follow the river till a good hiding spot presents herself, and then it'd be a simple manner to just follow it back to the log, and then go straight to the house. Easy peasy!

Her pace slowed as she continued to walk, as it didn't seem needed to run now, right? She didn't hear or see any sign of Dave yet, so she could just take her time, and enjoy the scenery. Well, maybe she could, if her gaze wasn't fixed at the ground she walked upon. 

Maybe she ran a little too long, and it'd be a good idea to hide soon. It didn't matter where, so long as she could sit down...

...and rest.

Jade jerked her head up and turned around. No no no no, not right now! It was too cold, and too far off for her to have an attack out here, it just wasn't safe. She stumbled forward, gasping for breath.

And then, next thing she knew, she was falling.

\- - - - - - - -

The boy didn't even bother reaching one hundred. He'd still play the game, yes, but he had business to take care of.

A revenge business, that is.

He set off through the crowd of trees, quietly, searching the snow for any signs of disturbance. There wasn't many clues on the ground, Rose must have been moving around plants to hide her path, but he counted on this. What Dave was really screening for was the bushes and the like. Moving through the plants meant knocking snow off the leaves and branches.

He moved slowly, stepping around the bushes, trying to mask his presence with silence. Naturally, there wasn't much he could do about the crunch of snow beneath his feet, but there was no way in hell he was gonna let that keep him reaching his goals.

Soon, she was in sight, and hadn't seemed to notice him. She was still moving, working her way deeper into the forest, whilst still trying to avoid footprints.

It was time to make his move.

It all happened rather quickly, and undeniably smooth as fuck, as the boy gathered all the snow his arms could carry and leapt at the girl. Before Lalonde could react, he had already had the collar of her coat pulled back and the sweet, white goodness falling down the opening. Instantly the girl shivered roughly, hands jerking back to try and remove the substance soaking through her shirt. Rose skipped away a few steps, biting back a squeak and turning into a bitter hiss.

"Alright Strider, _that_ was pretty low." 

"If you take a shot at me, you should already know something's gonna come back at you."

"Yeah, real mature," She rolled her eyes. "Was that one little snowball really worth it?"

"Yes. Yes it was," The boy smirked. Aw yissss.

"Pfft," Rose scowled, making sure the last bits of slush was removed, "I should have expected as much. My mistake, I suppose, though you might not want to pick such a game with me. When it comes to this sort of activity, it won't end lightly."

"Yeah, sure." Dave laughed, eyes turning to sky as tiny flakes began to fall upon the glass of his shades. "Huh, snowing again."

"So it is. Better finish up before it gets too heavy."

"Finish what?"

Rose stared at him for a moment. "The game we were playing, Hide and Seek. Jade's probably still hiding someplace waiting for your sorry ass to show up."

"Right. Time for this 'sorry ass' to show up on the double. Besides, its fucking cold here Rose."

She snickered, "I may as well head back and make something warm for you two, just finish up quickly."

"Yeah, okay. Just don't put anything weird in my glass, alright?"

"Now, I don't believe I'll be making any promises."

\- - - - - - - -

"Jade Harley, the hell are you? Come out already, will ya?" He'd been looking for about an hour now, but it wasn't as easy to track this girl down. He couldn't make out any sort of footprint or disturbance now, it was all being coated over. "Jesus Christ, what part of freezing our butts off is fun about this... I give up, okay? You fucking win, now get the fuck out here."

Seriously, where was she hiding? He was walking all over, surely she would have heard him by now. God, it was snowing way too hard for this bullshit right now.

Numbly, he dug a phone from his pocket. It was definitely far more difficult to type on the damn thing when your fingers were frozen through, but he was throwing in the towel.

TG: rose icant fin d jade  
TG: if the flames of fuckin g hell are supposd to be the hottest thing possible this has got to be the damn opposite  
TT: One would think given all this time, you'd find the girl by now.  
TT: Frankly I'm disappointed in you.  
TG: yeah ok now shut the fuc k up and help me okay  
TT: I haven't forgotten that most considerate gesture you gave me earlier. Why not leave this in your hands, you'll find her eventually.  
TG: ok that was low of me you win  
TG: now seriously  
TG: if you dont get your ass out here right now  
TG: i am gonna die  
TT: Drama queen, are we?  
TT: Relax, I'm heading out now.  
TT: To be honest with you, it's concerning she hasn't shown up yet. Surely by now she'd have come back to the house at least.  
TG: well i sure as hell dunno where the heck she is  
TT: You don't suppose she got lost, do you?  
TG: rose no we do not need t o brin gthat up right now  
TG: not cool man

He frowned, glancing around as he tried to shield the screen from the incoming storm. Jade Harley grew up in the outdoors, she couldn't have gotten lost, right? She's not dumb enough for that.

TT: Dave.  
TG: ugh what is it  
TG: did you find her  
TT: Dave, what if she fell asleep?

He froze for a moment, briefly wondering how on earth someone could fall asleep out here, when its way too cold and uncomfortable for that, but then it hit him. He broke into a run.

Jade Harley had narcolepsy. 

He didn't know all that much about the disorder, but he gathered that it'd make people just randomly fall asleep anywhere, anytime. Dave wasn't sure, but he thought once he heard it can leave someone immobile for hours on end. This was not a good place to be sleeping.

Dimly in the distance, he heard water, and he moved toward it. He could make out a log that fell over the river, forming some sort of bridge. If he were Jade, he'd probably cross it and find the supreme hiding place on the other side. Making up his mind, he slowly start making his way across. A few hours ago, this would have been a simple task, but not anymore. His limbs didn't want to move, they were cold and he could only jerk them forward. At one point, he nearly fell, but managed to catch himself just in time.

He walked along the river then, not sure what else he was supposed to do. It looked around as best he could, though it was hard to see well. However, he was able to spy a tiny bit of color nearby.  
In the ice, caught on a rock, was a tiny piece of green fabric, the color of Jade's coat, but it was only the one scrap.

He ran, knowing what must have happened. It was almost dreamlike at the end of his path, his fears proving to have been true.

Jade's body was in the water, caught on some larger rocks where the surface hadn't quite frozen over. Her eyes were closed, expression peaceful, but her skin was a white tinted with blue. He fell to a seated position, trying to take in the scene before him. 

Jade's body had fallen into the water, who knows how long ago.

She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't responding to his uneven breaths. 

She was dead, right in front of him. 

It was as though time stopped as he pulled her out of the river, ignoring the sting of the cold water as it lashed at his hands. He picked her up, and started walking the way he had come. She was cold, cruelly so, but was there anything else he could do for her now? If he'd only come looking for her sooner, then maybe...

Funny, he didn't think he'd gotten water on his face, but it was turning to ice.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas guys! I'm a terrible person hahaha.


End file.
